The two best lightweights on the planet may soon be matched up at UFC 269.
The UFC’s lightweight title will be up for grabs on December 11, according to a report from MMA Fighting. The fight will see champion Charles Oliveria looking to make his first title defense against former interim champion Dustin Poirier at UFC 269.
Poirier (28-6, 1NC) will be getting his first crack at the strap since losing a title unification bout to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 via submission. Following the loss, Poirier would rebound with a decision win in an absolute war against Dan Hooker, before defeating the sport’s biggest star Conor McGregor via knockout in a rematch of their 2014 bout. The two would then meet in a trilogy fight at UFC 264 in July, with Poirer winning the trilogy after McGregor broke his leg in the final seconds of the first round. Poirier actually passed up a chance at the belt in favor of the McGregor trilogy fight; in the end it seems he’ll get both fights.
Oliveria (31-8, 1NC) meanwhile is on one of the hottest streaks in the entire UFC. After losing to Paul Felder in December 2017, Oliveria would go on an absolute tear. Winning nine fights in a row against the likes of Tony Ferguson, Kevin Lee, Clay Guida, and others, Oliveria emerged as a bonafide contender at 155 pounds. Finishing eight of those nine wins along the way, there was no bigger finish than his knockout victory over Michael Chandler earlier this year to capture the UFC’s lightweight championship, after Khabib Nurmagomedov vacated the belt earlier this year.
The lightweight championship fight would likely headline the December 11 card, however, there is another title fight that has been announced for the PPV event. That fight sees two-weight champion Amanda Nunes looking to defend her bantamweight strap against contender Julianna Pena.
